The Jade Shader claims to take its name from an infamous Vancouver Island shipwreck. I cannot confirm or deny this, as I’ve never heard of the Jade Shader shipwreck, I’m terribly baked at the moment, find the idea of a google search horribly blasé, and am completely willing to be taken for a ride on this one if it turns out the whole story is stupid bullshit anyway to fuck with people writing about the band (i.e. Jade Shader). And what exactly is the band going to do if this piece of information is their idea of a cute little trick, some kind of misguided revenge against rockwrite hacks for ignoring their other bands No Knife, Farewell Bend, and Boilermaker? I mean, I have ignored those bands as well—although, I think the word “hack” is a little over the top in this case: hacks get paid!!—but I have been spinning Curse of the Tuatara pretty regularly, so I would consider myself friendly to the Jade Shader, and especially to Sonic Boom Records/Recordings which is just my absolute favorite, and frankly I’d feel pretty hurt if they included me in a game of Fuck The Hack. Besides, I lied, I did actually pay some attention to No Knife. I think I even saw them in Austin.

          Anyway, the Jade Shader shares inspiration with bands like Far, Stavesacre, Quicksand, Girls Against Boys, Puller, and other bands who loved Fugazi and the idea of Gang of Four extra much but hate punk as an ethic and an aesthetic. It’s the rock side, the cock side, the jock side, the Matt Johnson gang, if you will—the dead fucking serious crowd—the mentality that creates bands like Refused, Quicksand, No Knife, Boilermaker, Roadside Monument, and Face To Face (only for the rec their poppunker fans hated), and turns Raft of Dead Monkeys from gaggy shock rock to refined rock auteurs by their final recording—as well as providing a foundation for the 45-50 label’s pyramid scam.

          But don’t misunderstand me, It’s not always a bad thing—Refused was amazing, hell, most of the bands mentioned have done at least some great work at some point, especially Roadside Monument which was Matt Johnson’s band, and Matt Johnson was a badass motherfucker—and besides, Curse of the Tuatara is good and nowhere as chauvinistic and macho as most of its kin/ilk. I don’t think Chris Prescott hates women and wants to subjugate them to patriarchy again—in fact, I think the opposite. So, check out the Jade Shader at your fine neighborhood Sonic Boom Records music stores, especially the one in Ballard, which is the best one.